Holden Caulfield
Eternal Skeptic
Continue here, 7-2 going into labour day. I'm heading out this year, it should be a great game.
Sask looks darn good. Their D is tough. Maas is panicking on esks sideline. What a battle for 1-2 in west it will be starting with labour day.
I'm somewhat confused. Saskatchewan is still dead last in the west, they are not competing for 1-2 in the West with the Bombers.
You are right Saskatchewan looks to be getting better though. Looking solid recently. Looks like west is going to be a huge battle all year, right now it might even be BC that ends up missing playoffs.
One odd thing I've noticed is a crazy number of ex-Bombers DB's are starting around the league. Demond Washington, Don Unamba, Terrence Frederik, Jovon Johnson, Brandon Stewart, Johnny Adams, Johnny Sears, etc. It seems the one place Bombers have been good at recruiting is DB's over past few years.
Anyone know what happened to Matt Bucknor?
And by the way, I agree with you on Okpaulaugo. Big bust. And Westerman will likely be replaced next year, if not by Corney, then by an American
Bucknor actually came in to the game last week for BC. He's been their national backup DB this year.
Bombers are certainly banking on Chorney being able to step in. Having that national starter at DE is huge for flexibility. But with Westerman and Harris being two older ratio breakers it will be interesting to see what happens as those guys age out. I imagine the Bombers believe Geoff Gray will eventually be a starting tackle for them. Next year though is a long way off, CFL doesn't generally plan longterm as much as the NHL or MLB.
Bucknor (as with the majority of those you mentioned above) was garbage for us IMO. Hoping Chorney can step in, but we've had great Americans at DE in Hall and Willis, so it wouldn't surprise me if they go back that route and try putting a Canadian in elsewhere (the secondary?)
Hopefully Gray ends up here, but I'm wishing him luck in the NFL for now.
I'm somewhat confused. Saskatchewan is still dead last in the west, they are not competing for 1-2 in the West with the Bombers.
You are right Saskatchewan looks to be getting better though. Looking solid recently. Looks like west is going to be a huge battle all year, right now it might even be BC that ends up missing playoffs.
One odd thing I've noticed is a crazy number of ex-Bombers DB's are starting around the league. Demond Washington, Don Unamba, Terrence Frederik, Jovon Johnson, Brandon Stewart, Johnny Adams, Johnny Sears, etc. It seems the one place Bombers have been good at recruiting is DB's over past few years.
Bucknor was terrible but he was a national. We needed him at the time for the ratio. Most of the players I named were top end players. Guys like Johnson, Washington, Adams, Sears were really good players we moved on due to cost. Others like Unamba and Frederik we were promising young guys that got passed, no big deal. I wasn't trying to say it was always a mistake to move on (albeit it clearly was in a few cases like now retired Hefney and Johnson for example) just thought it was kinda cool how many ex-Bombers DB's (most or all brought north by the Blue and Gold) are still starting around the league.
As the passing game has gotten more and more important teams have gone away from using nationals in the secondary. Not that many left outside of safety and in many cases teams have moved to an international at safety as well. Eventually the Bombers will need to move away from starting 3 internationals on the O-Line. But again, that's not an issue right now and so much changes year to year in CFL it's largely irrelevant to talk about now.
Continue here, 7-2 going into labour day. I'm heading out this year, it should be a great game.
Did those years ago and always had a good time. Should be a neat experience in Sask's new stadium and a good game with Sask. on the rebound!
How did you even get tickets?
What the hell happened to Jonathan Jennings? After a great year last year and was playing really well to start this season he has been beyond horrendous since returning from injury. I wonder if he rushed his rehab because of how Lulay played in his absence and is still hurt. He looks pathetic out there.
What the hell happened to Jonathan Jennings? After a great year last year and was playing really well to start this season he has been beyond horrendous since returning from injury. I wonder if he rushed his rehab because of how Lulay played in his absence and is still hurt. He looks pathetic out there.
To be honest I never thought Jennings was the real deal, more of a flash in the pan type guy like Willy or Collaros.
Bucknor was terrible but he was a national. We needed him at the time for the ratio. Most of the players I named were top end players. Guys like Johnson, Washington, Adams, Sears were really good players we moved on due to cost. Others like Unamba and Frederik we were promising young guys that got passed, no big deal. I wasn't trying to say it was always a mistake to move on (albeit it clearly was in a few cases like now retired Hefney and Johnson for example) just thought it was kinda cool how many ex-Bombers DB's (most or all brought north by the Blue and Gold) are still starting around the league.
As the passing game has gotten more and more important teams have gone away from using nationals in the secondary. Not that many left outside of safety and in many cases teams have moved to an international at safety as well. Eventually the Bombers will need to move away from starting 3 internationals on the O-Line. But again, that's not an issue right now and so much changes year to year in CFL it's largely irrelevant to talk about now.
I don't ever remember Johnson being a very good DB. At his best he was adequate, and was usually the guy getting beat deep. He was a playmaker on special teams as a returner though. IIRC, he won top defensive player in the league one year..but it was a bit of a mystery as he was not a shutdown DB but was huge on big play returns.I remember him gambling big time for picks and also getting beat big time gambling on such. Not really a stabilizing force on defense.
I don't really remember Washington being too great. And Sears I didn't think was that good for us but he has definitely improved since leaving the Bombers.
And Lulay should definitely start next game. Jennings has been terrible for a while now.
Johnson was a pretty much unanimous DPOY selection. But he wasn't a shutdown corner? Are you being serious? He was by far the best DB in the league for a few years, has settled into a solid/good starter in more recent years.
Washington was good. Sears was more of a ST demon when here, but showed promise on defense.
Again though my whole point was NOT that dur Bombers dumb, but rather to highlight that Bombers brought in a ton of DB's to CFL that are starters around the league right now, that shows something for their talent identification for DB's. Also just a cool factoid.
It's quite surprising how quickly people try to denounce former players though, I've just never gotten that.
Johnson was a pretty much unanimous DPOY selection. But he wasn't a shutdown corner? Are you being serious? He was by far the best DB in the league for a few years, has settled into a solid/good starter in more recent years.
Washington was good. Sears was more of a ST demon when here, but showed promise on defense.
Again though my whole point was NOT that dur Bombers dumb, but rather to highlight that Bombers brought in a ton of DB's to CFL that are starters around the league right now, that shows something for their talent identification for DB's. Also just a cool factoid.
It's quite surprising how quickly people try to denounce former players though, I've just never gotten that.
Now, I am not sure that you are being serious. A shutdown corner, if he is a good one, eventually dictates how an offence rolls. Remember Rod Hill?? He had a season where he lead the league in intercepts. The next year his picks were way down. Reason..no QB in his right mind would throw at him..it was a very risky proposition to try to throw in his area. Do you remember when the Bombers would send him man to man on the opposition's best receiver?..in effect taking that player out of the game. Contrast that with Johnson..who ..even in his prime..was the victim of deep balls. He was a gambler..when he guessed right..he could burn a QB but when he guessed wrong, well beat deep again. The year he won DMOP, I can still remember the local media and the suggestion that we pulled one over on the league and that he won because..hands down..he was the best returner in the league..that needed some recognition. Sure, he was a Bomber and I was happy that he won it BUT along with many others, felt that he won it based on his kick returns and some big play intercepts caused by gambling and guessing right. I don't think he left us over an unreasonable contract dispute but rather the Bombers realizing that the big play returns and intercepts had pretty much run their course and they were tired of watching him getting beat deep when he guessed wrong.The last time I saw him play..what I saw was the same player playing around the same level as he played here..not the best and not the worst.
Your point about all the ex-Bomber DBs in the league is interesting. It's too bad that our scouts don't have a clue when evaluating QBs. McMannus was the last starter that the Bombers brought into the league I believe. Ouch that hurts..you would think that over the years we would stumble upon one...even a blind squirrel can occasionally find a nut.
He had 8 interceptions in 2011. The next year he had 1. For that exact reason you mentioned. No one threw short side on us. He was very explosive. If as you say he depended on gambling, speed and returns he still wouldn't be playing. As at 33 he has slowed down quite a bit, no longer returns, and doesn't really gamble anymore due to that lack of speed. Yet he is still a solid if unspectacular corner. He was the best DB we've had since Juran Boldin in the early 00's. BTW in 2011 Johnson was our nominee for Special Teams, Defensive Player, and Most Outstanding. He only won the Defensive Player. He ended up released because Joe Mack was a moron of epic porportions that destroyed the team. He was starting to slow down and was no longer elite like he had been then but still part of Mack dismantling the team.
It's so true about Bombers QBs. It's really odd but it seems like teams (for pretty long periods) only specialize in certain areas and then those players spread across leagues. BC/CGY/TOR right now brought in most QB's in the league*. For a long while the Bombers were getting all the WR, less so lately. Edmonton has completely failed to bring a RB for well over a decade now. It's just one of those odd things it seems.
*= I've decided to look at this cause why not. All #1 and #2 QB's listed.
BC - Lulay = BC
BC - Jennings = BC
EDM - Reilly = BC
EDM - Franklin = EDM
CGY - Mitchell = CGY
CGY - Stanzi = CGY
SSK - Glenn = SSK
SSK - Adams = BC
WPG - Nichols = EDM
WPG - Davis = CGY
HAM - Collaros = TOR
HAM - Masoli = EDM
TOR - Ray = EDM
TOR - Fajardo = TOR
OTT - Harris = TOR
OTT - Tate = CGY
MTL - Durant = HAM
MTL - Willy = SSK
Numbers (parentheses in # of starters)
BC - 4 (2)
EDM - 4 (2)
CGY - 4 (1)
SSK - 2 (1)
WPG - 0
HAM - 1 (1)
TOR - 3 (2)
OTT - 0
MTL - 0
Of note I counted Durant and Adams as the team who had neg list rights to them and traded them immediately before the player signed. The player is clearly already coming north at that point. It's kinda funny, Hamilton got Durant's rights during the dispersal draft from the Ottawa Renegades then traded him for Corey Holmes just before Durant came north.